Part 6:
Where do we go from here?
First of all, thank you for getting this far. The material you’ve just read is a theory assignment from my first year studying Architectural Design at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie. We were supposed to engage with an urban design phenomenon and reach the people or institutions involved in it, through a letter.
My project was initially meant to directly address NS to inquire about their clinging onto first class. Is it just about profit? Is it simply inertia? Is it the most productive way to use space when we’re clearly lacking it during rush hour on most routes? Isn’t it amplifying their personnel crisis? Isn’t it a bit 20th century?
What I’ve come to conclude is that a reply from NS (if I even receive one) is less important to me than the impact the following collective realisation might have:
Commuting has come to hold such tremendous power over so many people’s lives and it’s messing with the little hours we still have left in the day.
And what better space to start this discussion than NS wagons?
Of course there’s still so much to explore and perhaps the most relevant question is what could be realistic spacial demands in a situation like this. I stand with both commuters AND NS workers in their right to strike for better wages, hence to disturb the normal functioning of train rides. But my speculations on the present and ultimately future of commuting can only go so far.
If you have any thoughts, suggestions, contributions, personal experiences, feel free to send them at adailycommuter@outlook.com.
Until then, I’m wishing you a safe and quick travel!
Sincerely,
a daily commuter